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How It's Made

Terroir

Crown Maple is made at Madava Farms in Dutchess County, New York and crafted from sap produced from 1,500 acres and 50,000 sustainably managed sugar and red maple trees. These particular types of trees produce the sweetest sap on the planet and, combined with the temperature and terroir of New York’s Hudson River Valley, make it possible for Crown Maple to produce the finest quality syrup.

Tapping the Trees

During the months of December and January, the Crown Maple production team goes into the sugarbush and places one or two taps into each tree. Crown Maple strives to make the smallest impact possible on the trees by using a 1/4" bit when tapping them. After harvest concludes, this opening will begin to heal immediately and seal completely in 9-12 months.

Preparing the Sap

It takes between 40-50 gallons of sap to make a gallon of pure maple syrup and we begin this process the same day the sap is collected so it’s as fresh as possible.

We use a unique Reverse Osmosis unit that quickly and efficiently removes up to 90 percent of the water and produces a concentrate with the precise sugar content (measured in Brix) required for the next stage of our process. Using reverse osmosis to remove most of the water is far superior because it protects the delicate sap from prolonged exposure to heat which causes burning and excess caramelization.

Processing the Concentrate

The concentrate is pumped into a custom-made, three-stage Evaporator that is one of the largest and most energy-efficient ever built. The unit allows us to precisely control the temperature and give us the most even heat distribution across the Finishing and Flue pans. This allows us to remove the remaining excess water and produce a maple syrup with a sugar content of between 66 and 68 brix at the time of barreling. Producing the maple syrup quickly allows us to control the natural carmelization process and and craft the finest maple syrups from light to medium to dark to extra dark. The process also uses less energy.

The hot syrup (218 degrees) is twice-filtered with a special filtering medium and a Syrup Press to meet Crown Maple’s stringent purity standards before being pumped into 55-gallon barrels for storage until bottling. For good measure, we test and sample the maple syrup for consistency when each barrel is ¼ full and then again when it’s topped off and label it with sugar count, color grade and date produced.